Operating gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, such as trailer trucks, fire trucks and other emergency response vehicles, in a building, as is typically the case with such vehicles, results in the engine exhaust fumes to be trapped within the building, with potentially serious consequences to personnel located therein. For example, since emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, are often operated for some time in a bays within a building which is often in close proximity to offices, eating areas, dressing rooms and sleeping quarters, individuals may come in direct contact with exhaust fumes and/or the oily, sooty residue produced by diesel engines and deposited on the surroundings, if they are not properly trapped and vented out of the building. Over time, fumes can build up in undesirable areas and studies show that prolonged breathing of diesel and other exhaust fumes presents major health risks.
Fire stations and the emission of exhaust fumes in and around such areas are regulated by the National Fire Protection Association. This Association requires that fire stations utilize an exhaust distribution system to remove and vent the fumes from the fire station.
The prior art is replete with vehicle exhaust distribution systems suitable for automobiles, fire trucks and other vehicles, however these systems suffer from one or more drawbacks.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,889 (Nederman) discloses an exhaust system which utilizes a track forming a gas throughflow duct. The track is arranged for guiding a movable gas passage unit therealong so that the two communicate. Exhaust fumes from a vehicle are carried via a flexible hose to a unit disposed on the track. The fumes are carried through the unit into the track and out of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,054 (Melville et al.) discloses a system similar to the previously described Nederman patent an utilizes a track to carry the fumes therealong.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,817 (Fleischer et al.) discloses an exhaust-gas offtake track for exhausting fumes from a track-guided vehicle. The exhaust stack of the vehicle extends vertically into a collecting funnel. The funnel forms a portion of a trolley assembly to slide down the track and communicates with the interior thereof to carry fumes from the vehicle into the interior of the track for venting out of the building.
Other devices which vent and/or trap exhaust fumes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,389,923 (Ludscheidt), 4,312,645 (Mavros et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,574 (Sato et al.).
It is believed that Nederman Inc. of Westland, Michigan offers an exhaust venting device under the trade designation Nederman Vertical Stack System. The applicant is not fully cognizant of the construction of that system but believes that it is arranged for use with vehicles having a vertically extending exhaust pipe (stack) and includes a hollow track to which a flexible hose is connected at one end. A trolley box or housing is believed to be mounted on the track for longitudinal movement therealong. The trolley box includes a pair of angled arms to form a V-shaped mouth into which the top end of a vertical exhaust stack is guided when the fire truck is backed into its parking spot. Apparently, the trolley then moves along the track carrying fumes from the stack through the trolley and into the horizontally disposed longitudinal track. The fumes then pass into the flexible conduit at the end of the track and out of the building. It is believed that the trolley box has a spring loaded gate which releases the vehicle exhaust stack when the vehicle departs from the building.
While the foregoing prior art system may achieve their intended purpose, namely, venting the exhaust fumes from the vehicle out of the building, they nevertheless leave much to be desired from various standpoints. For example, such prior art systems are quite complicated and expensive to install, e.g., they require a special track to carry fumes therealong. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, many such systems appear to require manual connection and/or disconnection from the vehicle. This factor is undesirable since it increases the possibility that the system may be forgotten to be utilized when a vehicle is located within the building.
Accordingly, a need exists for a exhaust distribution system to be used in a garage o bay to trap and safely vent exhaust fumes.